


Slip Slowly into Madness

by barryallenisravenclaw



Series: Halbarry Oneshots [12]
Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Depressing, M/M, Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Poor Hal, Sad, Sorry guys, barry's death, hella angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 09:03:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18163235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barryallenisravenclaw/pseuds/barryallenisravenclaw
Summary: Barry is gone. He's just... gone, and Hal can't do anything about it. Even worse, the voice in his head won't shut up.originally posted on wattpad on 3/28/2016





	Slip Slowly into Madness

Hal fell to his knees, clutching the fabric of that costume he knew so well. This couldn't be happening. Bar-- No. Hal couldn't say it.

He felt Ollie's arm on his shoulder, but he couldn't feel it. He heard Ollie trying to calm him down, but he didn't hear him. In no less than five seconds, Hal had become a shell.

"It doesn't have to be this way."

Hal's head shot up and he glared at the ghost in front of him. "How dare you come here, now? How can you think this is a good time to talk? Now, when I've lost my everything?"

The older version of himself donned a look of false sympathy. "I know. I'm in there with you, remember? I can feel the dam of pain about to burst. I'm just trying to suggest a way that we might possibly avoid such a terrible situation."

Hal tried to stand and face himself, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. He settled for s slightly more intense glare instead.

"Just tell me the idea and get the hell out."

The other Hal held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Touchy! Alright, here's the plan. You vacate the premises for a short while, I'll take over the main apartment, and while I'm in there I'll look for a way to bring back lover boy."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Hal stares into the eyes of a man he knew wasn't there. It wasn't healthy to argue with himself like that, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He'd been turning schizophrenic for months and it looked like now was the time for Hal Two to take over.

Except Hal didn't want that. He didn't care anymore that he'd be loosing his brain, body, and soul to a version of himself that was so obviously insane. Hal only cared about Barry. And he was-- he was gone.

Hal looked down at Barry's suit. He'd seen it countless times over the years. Hell, Hal had taken it off the speedster more than a couple of those times. But there had never been a time like this. A time when the suit was there and Barry was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't like it was a normal, you know, either. Barry was running, and then he'd just-- disappeared. Hal didn't get to say goodbye. Hal would never get to say goodbye.

"It's not worth it, Hal."

Spectre was there too. He helped Hal ward off the Other Guy on occasion. But he couldn't do it then. Now when Hal had lost so much. If there was even the slightest chance that he might see his--

Hal looked up at his grayer counterpart, trying his best to ignore Spectre's pained expression.

"Promise me you'll bring Barry back," he said.

The other Hal grinned. "I will do my best."

Hal took a deep breath, glancing at Ollie as he did. GA hadn't moved, thank God. Hal seriously doubted he could do it without him. Holding the empty suit was too much.

"I'll do it."

Instantly, Hal was thrown out of his body. The other Hal grinned, and he began to change.

"Excellent! Well obviously I'll need to move some furniture around, and of course the next few months of undercover work will be a shitstorm, but I think I'll have a lot of fun here, don't you, Spectre?"

"How could you?" The ghost asked regular Hal. Hal couldn't respond. He was far too distracted by the creature in front of him.

"What are you?" It was yellow. Not just any yellow, the yellow of Fear. Hal would recognize that glow anywhere.

The bug creature laughed, still using Hal's voice. "Isn't it obvious? I'm fear, and you just let me take over! All that shit about being a big macho pilot finally caught up to you, Hallie! We just witnessed your biggest fear, and that was all it took. Parallax is in charge now, bitch!"

Hal fell back and watched his body stiffen under Oliver's arm. There were no tears in those eyes. There wasn't even a hint of sadness. Oliver didn't notice and continued to comfort Hal's body as they walked away from the death zone. Hal's consciousness was being pulled with. He panicked.

"No, please! You said you could bring back my Barry! Please just... Just bring back the man I love..."

Parallax chuckled as Spectre and Hal were pulled back into small cages in the Hal Brain subconscious. "You don't get it, do you? You're not going to see him again. In fact, because you're whining so much, I'll kill all your friends while you watch! Doesn't that sound fun, Hal?"

Hal's body didn't move even as the three minds battled inside it. Oliver Queen wasn't used to comforting his friend, and just sort of assumed that Hal's silence was helping him heal. He didn't know that he should have called J'onn. He didn't know that the moment before Barry died was the last months would see the real Hal for years.


End file.
